The Preps : Sunset League Baseball : Arnold Powers Ocean View : Two-Run Triple Makes Difference in 4-3 Victory

John Arnold’s two-run triple in the sixth inning gave Ocean View High School a 4-3 victory over Fountain Valley in a Sunset League opener Friday at Ocean View.

Ocean View (6-2) and Fountain Valley (5-4) were tied, 2-2, when Baron reliever Steve Montgomery (1-2) walked Cory Colbert and gave up a bunt single to Scott Caringella to start the Ocean View sixth.

After Kevin Mullins forced Colbert at third, Arnold, who was hitless in his first 13 at-bats this season, lined a pitch into right-center field to score Caringella and Mullins.

Ocean View sophomore pitcher Randy Karliner (4-0), who hit Bryan Kojima with a pitch to start the seventh, survived a scare when left fielder Caringella made a leaping catch against the fence to take a home run away from Matt Hallock.

Kojima, who went to second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on Hallock’s drive. He scored Fountain Valley’s third run on Steve Grack’s sacrifice fly. But Jon Orcher hit a fly ball to center to end the game.

“He struggled a bit with his control today, but he’s such a competitor that you have to leave him in the game,” Ocean View Coach Steve Barrett said of Karliner, who allowed four hits and four walks in his third complete game of the season. “He doesn’t strike out a lot of people, but he keeps the ball down and gets a lot of ground-ball outs.”

Said Fountain Valley Coach Ron LaRuffa: “I’m not happy with the way we competed today. We kind of sat back and waited for something to happen instead of just making things happen. We had a complete breakdown of fundamentals at times, and we can’t afford to do that when we face the teams of the Sunset League.”

With one out in the third, Ocean View’s Darren Ernst and Steve Hernandez singled off starter Jeff Hale, with Hernandez taking second on center fielder Grack’s throw to third. After Daniel Hernandez’s infield out scored Ernst, Hernandez, who took third on the play, scored when third baseman Jeff Higbee mishandled Gary Christoferson’s ground ball for an error.

Tom Mendoza, who led off the Fountain Valley fourth with an infield single, went to third on Karliner’s high pickoff throw to first. He then scored on Montgomery’s single to left. Two outs later, Montgomery scored on Hallock’s double.

In another Sunset League game:

Edison 2, Huntington Beach 0 (8 innings)--With two outs in the eighth, Rocky Balch doubled home two runs for the victory at Huntington Beach. Jay Thobe (1-0) gave up four hits and struck out five in seven innings for the victory.